Deus Ex: Equine Revengeanceby The Shadow BronyChaptersPrologueThe Hunt BeginsThe Plot ThickensPrologue"If you want to make enemies, try to change something." Twilight looked up from her paperwork as the door to her office opened, letting in a familiar cyan blue pegasus clad in a black leather jacket with a black bodysuit underneath it. "Thanks for coming, Rainbow Dash." "No sweat, Twi," Rainbow said as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of Twilight's desk. "Where's Spike?" "I had him clock out early. Told him to spend some time with Rarity. Celestia knows they deserve it," Twilight said as she sat her paperwork down, releasing it from the magenta light of her magic and taking a moment to admire Luna's moon as it hung in Fillydelphia's evening skyline. "Listen, before I go into why I called you, I need to know. Are you absolutely sure you're good to come back to work? I mean, you just gave birth. And Scootaloo has gotta be a bigger hoofful now that she's flying and has her cutie mark to boot." "Don't worry, Twilight. Soarin can handle Scoot and her new brother," Rainbow said. "He can handle anything, just like I can." "I was still kinda surprised when you two got married," Twilight said, smiling as she thought back to Soarin and Dash's wedding day. "How are Scootaloo's wings?" "They're working great," Rainbow said with a smile. "I can't thank you enough for what you did for her. Seeing her enjoy a flight always makes me smile." "Glad I could help," Twilight said, returning Dash's smile. "I don't get why those purists have a problem with what we do. If not for augmentation, Scootaloo wouldn't be able to fly, and I'd still be missing a leg," she said as she held up her right foreleg, the black prosthetic standing in stark contrast to her lavender fur. "I don't even feel the phantom pain from the stub anymore. The accident was pretty bad, but thanks to augmentation, I still live a full life unhindered." "Yeah. I won't deny augmentation's good and all, but I don't need it, and I never will. That tech would just slow me down," Dash said as Twilight put her leg down. Twilight chuckled. "Of course you'd choose a pure flesh body for the sake of speed. That's just like you, Dash." "You bet your flank it is," Dash said, hovering and grinning with a hoof on her chest. "But yeah. I'm good to come back into work. Gotta lose this baby weight soon, ya know." The grin was infectious, and Twilight found herself grinning with her chief of security. "Anyway. The reason I called you back so soon is because I have a bad feeling about tonight. I can't shake the feeling that something big is going to happen." "Don't you worry, Twi. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to anypony here," Rainbow said as she landed back in the chair. "You can count on me." "Thanks, Rainbow," Twilight said before they were interrupted by a new voice. "Security Chief Dash, your family is in the lobby." The cultured, yet unmistakably masculine voice originated from the speakers around the room. "Thanks, Dusk Shine. I'm on my way down," Dash said before heading for the door, but stopped to look at Twilight. "Everything'll be fine. I just know it." ________________ "Mom!" Scootaloo called as she flew into her adoptive mother's embrace, hugging her tightly. "Hey Scoot. What are you and Soarin doing here?" Dash asked after she released her daughter, smiling as she caught sight of the young mare's cutie mark: a sky blue triskelion. Scootaloo had finally realized her acrobatic and aerobatic talent when she got her new wings. The augment was lightweight, but still incredibly durable. A good thing too, since Scootaloo seemed as prone to crashing as her mother. "Me, dad, and Radiant, actually," Scootaloo said as Soarin joined them, a little foal held securely in a carrying harness on his father's back. He had been looking around at all the new sights, but now was focused on his mother. Rainbow smiled as she nuzzled her son, making him giggle. "Hey there, Radiant Dash. How's momma's little colt?" Soarin smiled as Radiant giggled again and nuzzled his wife. "I thought I'd bring the kids to visit you at work. Spitfire canceled practice tonight for some reason." "That's weird," Rainbow said. "Is she still upset about you and me being married?" "Yeah. I still can't believe she went as far as kicking you off the team," Soarin said. "I guess Radiant was the last straw for her." "Probably," Dash agreed. "She still reeling from that buck I gave her?" "Yeah, that didn't really help get into her good books, Dashie," Soarin said. "Sorry dude. Hormones. I was pregnant at the time," Dash said. Pregnancy had not stopped her from bucking Spitfire right in the face when they had their little spat. "I still say that was awesome, Mom," Scootaloo said, earning a ruffling to her mane from her mom despite her protests. "Come on, Mom. Show us around." "Well, I can give you a little tour, but don't stay too long. It's a school night. Plus your brother needs his rest," Dash said. "Thanks, mom," Scootaloo said as a unicorn approached them. "Nice of you to come back to work so soon, Rainbow. Sure you're up to it?" the unicorn asked. "I'm fine, Facet," Dash said. Rarity's twin brother looked nothing like his sister, having a ruby red coat, a sapphire blue mane with amethyst highlights, and emerald green eyes. His cutie mark was a paint pallet with gems where the paint would be with a hammer and chisel in the background. He certainly didn't look like he belonged in an office building. "I thought you were an artist, Facet," Soarin said. "I am," Facet said. "I had a pretty bad case of artist's block and started messing with computers. Who knew coding could be just as much of an art form as painting or sculpting?" "You fix the firewall?" Dash asked. "You don't 'fix' a firewall, Dash. you find the loophole and plug it," Facet said. "Did you plug it?" Dash asked, scowling a bit. "Yes I did," Facet said before looking at his coworker's family. "Did you like my wedding gift?" "Yeah. Thanks for that," Dash said, grinning. "It was no problem," Facet said. "While you're showing them around, try not to forget who made most of the paintings here. My little display of advocating augmentation. I'd never be able to multitask like I can without my augments." "Yeah yeah. I don't need your fancy tech," Dash said. "Famous last words, Rainbow Dash," Facet said. "I'll be in my office if you need me." With that, Facet teleported up to his office. "He seems nice," Soarin said. "Wait till you talk to him without Radiant around. Then he'll get really snarky," Dash said. "Come on. Let's get this tour going." "Alright!" Scootaloo cheered as they got moving. Dash took them to some of the upper floors, mentioning that most of the paintings, many of which depicted ponies in environments of progress while others were portraits of important figures in the company, had indeed been painted by Facet. The unicorn was glad of the praise when his office was visited on the tour. After showing them her own office, which had a certain Spartan feel to it, and had a very good view of the lobby, she took them up to Twilight's office. "Hey Twilight. Scootaloo wanted your office to be on the tour," Dash said as Twilight came from around her desk. "This is so awesome!" Scootaloo said as she hovered around the room. "Glad you're enjoying the wings," Twilight said, smiling at the excited mare before seeing Radiant. "And this must be the new addition." "Yup. Meet Radiant Dash," Soarin said, turning so the curious foal could see Twilight better. Radiant's name was very fitting. He was about the same shade of cyan as his mother, and had her vibrant red eyes. His mane was mostly blue like his father, but with a rainbow streak down the middle. "He's cute," Twilight said, letting the foal tug her mane a bit. The happy moment was broken as an alarm started blaring. "What's going on?" Dash asked, getting serious. "There are several fires down in the tech labs. Tracking signals from the researchers indicate that they are fleeing from something, and I cannot get any images on the cameras. They are being jammed," Dusk Shine said as data came up on the screen behind Twilight's desk.. Rainbow looked at Soarin. "Get the kids out of here and get them home. Don't leave for any reason until I come get you." "What are you gonna do, Mom?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm going down there," Dash said. "Somepony's gotta protect those eggheads." "Be careful," Soarin said, briefly kissing Dash before leaving with Scootaloo and Radiant. "Use my personal elevator, Dash," Twilight said. "Right," Rainbow said as she checked her rifle and pistol sidearm before entering the lift and heading down toward the labs. "Rainbow Dash, once you're down there, it's likely that communications will be cut off between us. I'll try to get around whatever's jamming it, but until then, you're on your own," Facet said over the comms, which were suffering some interference. "Got it, Facet," Dash said before the communication cut off. "Guess I really am on my own for now," she muttered as she exited the lift with her rifle held up. Keeping a close eye on her surroundings, she made her way through the damaged and burning labs. "Please! No!" The alarmed begging made Dash move faster and she reached a plexiglass door in time to see a pair of scientists gunned down by a burly and clearly augmented earth pony. "What the? I was expecting purists, not an augmented merc," Dash thought to herself as the pony moved on. By the time Dash had made her way around the plexiglass, the merc was gone and her path clear. Coming to a lab door, she pressed against the wall beside it and carefully opened it. Seeing the way clear, she started moving through when she saw a scientist gunned down. Taking cover, she got a look at the attackers as they came down the lab stairs. Unlike the earth pony from earlier, these two weren't augmented, but they did have high end equipment. And unlike him, they were actually vulnerable. Peeking around her cover, Dash put several bullets in on of their heads before taking cover again to hide from the return fire. When the survivor stopped to reload, she peeked out and picked him off. Once she was sure the area was clear, she headed up the stairs and into the next corridor. After a brief period, she saw several guards get gunned down and peeked around the corner in time to see a flash of light vanish into a vent shaft. Moving on carefully, she reached another lab and listened to some of the chatter from intruders on the other side. "We're supposed to kill any scientists we find, but the boss said leave the main objective to her." Filing that tidbit away, Dash silently opened the door and put several bullets in one of their heads. The other two quickly took cover and returned fire. Dash kept her cover and peeked out to take a shot at one, only managing to wound him before needing to take cover again. "I do not need a firefight right now!" Peeking around again, she fired and took out the wounded one, hiding out from the last one and sending some blind fire his way before peeking out for more accuracy. Once it was clear, she paused to reload her rifle before moving on. Making her way through another corridor, she reached the door to a third lab, where a lab tech still lived. "Dash! Thank Celestia you're here!" he said before an augmented unicorn mare came out of the vent behind him and gunned him down before engaging a cloaking device and fleeing. The tech was able to open the door before succumbing to his wounds. "They're gonna pay," Dash muttered as she took cover, looking at five intruders who had entered the lab from the lower level. "So far I've encountered twelve intruders. Ten normal but with good equipment, and two that have some high end augmentations. They're obviously mercenaries, but who hired them? And what's the motivation?" Putting those thoughts aside for later, Dash peeked above the rail and shot one of them in the head several times before taking cover again. After moving to a better spot and picking off another two intruders, Dash noticed a canister land near her. "Concussion grenade!" Moving quickly, she got to the rail leading down the stairs before the grenade went off. Sending out some blind fire, Dash peeked out and picked off the second to last before rolling to cover behind a large object on the lab floor. Just in time for it to take some bullets. "Sorry, Twilight. I bet that's expensive," she muttered as she peeked around and took out the last guy. After reloading, she headed out of the lab and headed through the corridor. This didn't make any sense. Why would mercenaries be attacking Sparkle Industries? Sure there were purists, but they'd never hire augmented mercs. That would only make them look like hypocrites. This wasn't about augmentation. There was some other motive. But what was it? And who was the mare in charge of them? What was their main objective? Rainbow was broken from her thoughts when she was blindsided and bucked through a glass screen into an office. Pain coursing through her, she got a bead on her attacker, a masked and highly augmented pegasus, as the mystery pony approached her. Rainbow reached for her pistol only to be bucked through the office wall. Through the haze of pain, she saw something that nearly made her heart stop: her family in the hooves of the mercs. Soarin struggled in vain against the earth pony, while the unicorn's magic field held a struggling Scootaloo and a crying Radiant. "MOM!!!" Scootaloo screamed, though it seemed distant to Dash. Dash tried to get up at hearing Scootaloo's voice and her son's crying, but her body wouldn't respond to her will, and she lost consciousness. ______________ "Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" a familiar voice slowly roused Rainbow. "Oh thank Celestia you're alive," Twilight said as Rainbow's vision cleared. Dash slowly glanced around with her good eye. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were there too. As was Princess Luna and, to her surprise, Princess Celestia. Celestia looked like she had been hastily roused from her sleep. "What happened?" "You were hurt pretty badly," Fluttershy said. Dash was covered in casts and bandages. "The doctors said that you're lucky to be alive, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said. "Where's my family?" Dash asked. "Well... they're uh..." Pinkie Pie's mane had deflated, and her coat was a darker shade of pink. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. They were burned beyond recognition, but the coroner said they didn't suffer," Celestia said in a very somber tone. "The company was never the target. They just wanted to get you away from your family," Twilight said in the same tone as her mentor. Dash barely managed a gasp. "No... No..." She had lost everything. Her husband, her children, and her body was heavily damaged. They were right there, and she couldn't do a damn thing to save them. She should never have left them. She was overcome with grief. But just as quickly, it was replaced by something else: rage. She wanted revenge, and she would hunt her family's killers to Tartarus and back if she had to. "How long until I heal?" "The doc said you're completely crippled," Applejack said. "Whoever did this to ya was thorough." Dash looked at Twilight. "Augment me." "Dash, are you sure?" Twilight asked. "You said -" "I know what I said," Dash said, cutting her off. "Things have changed. I want answers. I want to know who attacked us, who murdered my family. I will never stop looking until I find out who did this and make them pay. Every augment the company has, I want it, Twilight. Don't spare anything. Make sure I get everything." Twilight and everypony else present could hear the determination in the mare's voice. She wouldn't be denied so easily. "Alright. I'll get everything set up. You just rest. It'll be a long operation." Dash nodded and closed her eye. "Soarin... Scootaloo... Radiant... I'll find whoever took you from me. I'll make them pay. I promise you that. Cross my heart and hope to fly... stick a cupcake in my eye." The Hunt Begins"Rage is one hell of an anesthetic." Twilight looked down at the operation from the observation theater. With her were Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, and Facet. Except for Facet, who was looking for leads from what he could salvage from the files of the attack, they were watching Rainbow Dash's augmentation. Considering that the widowed mother was getting every augment that Sparkle Industries had, the doctors and Twilight both had estimated an operation twenty hours long. They were two hours into it, and Dash's legs and wings had been successfully replaced with the hubs for the prosthetics that would take their place. "I still can't believe somepony would do something so horrible," Spike said, clutching Rarity's hoof in his claw as they watched. Their physical contact being a means of silent comfort for each other. He had matured quite a bit, and though he could still walk on his hind legs, his longer tail and natural serpentine body structure found him more comfortable being on all fours at times, and he had grown wings. He was about the size of an adult pony now, not as large as one of the Regal Sisters, but still about the size of Big Macintosh. "We'll find who did this, Spike," Fluttershy said in an unusually even voice. The presence of the Stare was the only thing betraying the inferno of rage that swirled within the normally shy pony's heart. Rarity looked over at her twin. "Did you find anything yet, Facet?" "I'm still looking, Rarity," Facet said. "That's what I was doing yesterday. That's what I was doing when you asked me five minutes ago. So five minutes from now, when you ask me, 'have I found anything?', my answer is gonna be, 'I'm still looking.'" He looked at his sister with a bit of a frown as he spoke. "If and when I find something, Twilight shall be the first to know. But bear in mind, the cameras in the labs were being jammed and I had a very hard time getting images, so anything I find will probably be very fuzzy and need some clearing." "Don't talk to Rarity like that," Spike growled. "It's alright, Spike. He's just upset that his security measures were bypassed as easily as they were," Rarity said. "Which is not easy," Facet said. "I'd wager they had a mole on the inside, so I'm running background checks on all Sparkle Industries employees and crosschecking alibis. If any of them are hiding something, I'll find out, and Twilight will be the first to know." "What about witnesses?" Applejack asked. "Somepony musta seen somethin." "Only three ponies got out of the labs alive: Rainbow Dash and two others," Twilight said. "One of them is in a coma, and it's unknown if he'll wake up any time soon. The other was ready to give a detailed description, but by the time I got to him, he couldn't remember a thing. I think he was bribed, or he might be involved. We'll find out either way." "Those meanies are gonna pay!" Pinkie Pie said, her mane and tail slightly less straight, but she wasn't completely back to her bouncing, happy self. "Got that right, Pinkie," Twilight said as they fell into silence again. One year later Rainbow Dash flew through the sky over Las Pegasus, her rainbow trail hidden even in the night by the many lights of the city's casinos. But she wasn't interested in those. She was looking for a particular nightclub. She had wanted to start looking soon after her operation, but Twilight convinced her to rest and learn all her new augments. She may have now been heavier, and had a special landing system that she could use to stun her enemies if she landed among them, her pegasus magic was still enough to allow her to still fly at her usual high speeds. Her stamina had greatly increased as well. Before she was augmented, she'd have needed to rest at a couple of points on this trip. She still wore her black coat and bodysuit, but it was tailored to accommodate some new weapons in her body, and her prosthetic limbs and wings had a black sheen to them. Her new eyes, though artificial, were the same vibrant red that her original eyes had been, but where those had been full of life and joy, the new ones were devoid of emotion, and the built in shades covering them masked even the inferno they carried. Gone was Dash's confident smirk. In its place was a scowl. All in all, her new look conveyed 'Don't fuck with me.' Landing on the sidewalk with enough force to crack it, Dash walked toward the entrance of Club Errera, passerby giving her a wide berth. As she reached the entrance of the club, she could hear the beat of music coming from within, which became clear as the doors slid open to let her in. Stopping at the top of a staircase, she took stock of the club. The dance floor was packed, and the strobe lights lighting up the darkened room with all manner of colors made for a very nice atmosphere. Her only problem was the music, and as she walked toward the bar, the lyrics got started for the first time since she entered. "Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest..." Those lyrics reminded her of her loss, and made her blink back some tears as she reached the bar. "Mojito," she said to the barkeep. "No ice or lime wedge." "I think you might be lost, aug," a gruff voice said from the spot next to her. Looking over, Dash saw a rather diminutive chimp in a tuxedo shirt and jacket holding a drink of his own. "Aren't you a little small to have a name like Wukong?" she asked in a condescending tone as her drink was served. Lifting her hoof, or rather, hand, she took hold of the glass. It had been Twilight's idea to include hands in foreleg prosthetics, since they were so convenient for monkeys and other creatures that had them. Manipulating the unfamiliar appendage had been a somewhat challenging learning curve, but Dash had managed. "So you know who I am," Wukong said. "Got a name, sweetheart?" Dash looked him dead in the eye. "Several. But instead of 'sweetheart', you can call me 'ma'am'." As she spoke, she reached down with her left hand, grabbing and squeezing Wukong's family jewels as she said 'ma'am'. She sipped her drink as the pain made Wukong gasp in a voice a couple octaves higher than he had been speaking in before. "Word on the street is that you know everything," she said as an image of the only other active survivor of the attack on Sparkle Industries appeared on a screen on her foreleg. "Tell me where I can find him and I might not neuter you," she said as she showed it to him. "I've never seen him before, freak," Wukong got out through his pain. "Excuse me?" Dash asked while adding some pressure to his jewels. "I've never seen him before, freak, ma'am!" Wukong whimpered as a large number of bouncers, chimps larger than Wukong himself, ran up to them. "Looks like we've got an audience," Dash said as she glanced at them. "This must be embarrassing for you." "Listen, freak, ma'am! If you want to get out of this club alive, then let me go. Now!" Wukong gasped as Dash sipped her drink. Deciding to go easy on him, Dash released him and nonchalantly sipped her drink. "You'll pay for that, aug!" Wukong said, glaring at her as one of the bouncers approached Rainbow. "We just need to kiss and make up," the bouncer said as he grasped Dash's face and turned it toward him, leaning in for the kiss part. All that earned him was a fist to the face that sent him flying through a glass pillar and onto the dance floor, sending the party goers running and screaming. "My husband was the only one allowed to kiss me like that," Rainbow said coldly before finishing her drink. One of the bouncers came at Dash with a bo staff, and his swing was dodged by her as she jumped into the air and slammed into the ground, causing a shockwave that knocked the bouncers off their feet. Exploiting the opening, Dash closed the distance between herself and one of the bouncers and bucked him into a wall before punching another and disarming him of his jian and throwing him into one of his colleagues. She used the stolen jian to clock another bouncer with the flat side of the blade and kicked him into another bouncer before pinning another to the floor by shoving the blade through his coat and deep into the floor. Dodging a punch and getting behind the offender, she suplexed him into the floor and tackled another into the wall with a shoulder charge. The bouncers piled on top of Dash and tried to restrain her with their combined weight. What they didn't count on was the sheer strength that Rainbow now possessed, allowing her to throw them off and into the walls. The ones that were still able to wisely decided to not get up. "Ginkaku who is this girl?" a silverback gorilla dressed in a monk's robe with a golden rope wrapped around his left arm and a large feathered fan in his right hand asked of his brother. "I don't know, Kinkaku. But she needs to be taught a lesson," Ginkaku said, brandishing a sword that appeared to have a blade that could fold in half in his right hand, and a large gourd under his left arm. He wore a similar monk's robe as his brother. Rainbow Dash turned to face them, lifting her right foreleg as a blade extended from a slot on it over and behind her fist, and another blade extended from her left foreleg's elbow, pointing behind her. "Come on." Grinning, Kinkaku ran at her and threw a punch at her with his rope covered arm. Jumping, Dash avoided the punch and landed on his arm as she countered with a left hook aimed at his face, which he blocked with the fan. Ginkaku came at her with a slash of his sword that she jumped off Kinkaku's arm to avoid while parrying with a slash of her arm sword. Hovering above them, she noted the ambient magic she felt in their weapons. "Better not let that rope touch my skin. Hit and run tactics from above are my best bet here," she thought to herself. "Don't think flying is gonna protect you from us, aug!" Kinkaku said with a smirk as he waved his fan, sending a wave of fire at Dash. "Whoa that's hot!" Dash gasped as she flew up to avoid the fire, feeling its heat even with some distance as it melted several metal light fixtures and made them fall onto the vacated dance floor. Glaring, she flew at Ginkaku and started a close quarters fight with him, working to keep him between herself and Kinkaku. Kinkaku closed the distance and swapped out with his brother, trying to hit Dash with the rope wrapped around his arm. "Why isn't this working?!" "Try hitting skin!" Dash said as she grabbed the rope, swinging Kinkaku around and throwing him into a wall before turning her attention back to Ginkaku, who demonstrated some impressive swordwork, keeping Dash on her guard for a bit before she found an opening and bucked him into his brother, knocking both out. Throughout the fight, that song had kept playing, making Dash feel the need to vent some of her sadness. And what better way than through song? Going over to the soundboard, she hacked it and changed the music, doing a practice vocal as Wukong approached armed with an ornate bo staff. "You're gonna pay for this," Wukong said as he attacked at the same moment Dash began singing. "I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute. Couldn't bear another day without you in it. All of the joy that I had known for all my life, Was stripped away from me the minute that you died." Dash parried several strikes from Wukong's staff after her attempt to block one had knocked her back several feet. Wukong was stronger than he looked. Much stronger. "To have you in my life was all I ever wanted. But now without you, I'm a soul forever haunted. Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted. No way in Hell that I could ever comprehend this!" Dash went on the offensive and threw a combo of punches at Wukong, who blocked and parried them with his staff, getting in some hits on his own and making Dash take to the air. "I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone. I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong. How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay? Now I'm trapped inside a nightmare every single bucking day!" Dash put on a burst of speed and disarmed Wukong while also sending him into the opposite wall with her following combo. Despite her song and the fight, her face remained passive. "Red like roses Fills my head with dreams and finds me" Wukong got up and came at Dash as she landed, trying to attack her again. "Always closer to the emptiness and sadness that has come to take the place of you!" Dash finished the song as she punched Wukong into the floor and held him there, bringing up the picture of her target again. "No more games. Now tell me where he is." "Okay! Okay!" Wukong said. "He's been staying in a penthouse across from Hurricane's Palace." "Thanks," Dash said as she got off him. "Next time give me the info I want." With that, she flew off toward the penthouse in question. She needed to have words with this pony. The Plot Thickens"Necessity is the mother of invention." Rainbow Dash looked for her destination as she flew over Las Pegasus. Her attention however was drawn to a part of her heads up display as she heard a ringing sound in her ear. "Dash here," she said as an image of Twilight came up in the corner of her HUD. "Did you really beat up the security staff of Club Errera in your search for information?" Twilight asked. "I know Princess Luna gave you free rein to do whatever you deem necessary for your search by making you one of the Shadowbolts, but you're still using Sparkle Industries augmentations, and your actions at least somewhat reflect on us." "I'll try, but I can't make any promises," Dash said. "I may have had to start a brawl, but I found out where our missing friend is. And I doubt he'll be happy to see me." "Probably not," Twilight agreed. "How are the augments feeling?" "They feel good," Dash said. "Well, before you get there, Facet wants to talk to you," Twilight said. "Alright. Put him on," Dash said. The image changed to one of Facet. "Well Rainbow, I do hate to say I told you so but... I told you so." "If all you wanted was to rub in my face that I had to get augmented after saying I'd never need the tech, then get off the comm," Dash said with a frown. "I do in fact have a lead, Rainbow," Facet said. "I've been doing some digging into the mercs who attacked the company, and I've determined that they weren't terrorists of any sort. More likely, they're either paramilitary or employees of a PMC." It took Dash a moment to recognize the acronym. "We might have been attacked by a private military company?" "Of course," Facet said. "You didn't really think civilians were the only ones getting augmented, did you? No. With the advances being made in augmentation technology, cyborgs are becoming a subject of great interest for the military-industrial complex. While civilians are more interested in the prosthesis aspect, PMCs are developing cyborg bodies that are armed. Imagine. A fire team with the firepower of a platoon and the dexterity and coordination of machines. Truly a fearsome opponent, wouldn't you agree?" "Yeah. Not someone I'd want to fight," Dash agreed as the image changed to a white stallion with a red mane. "Not just ponies. Other races as well. Griffons, minotaurs, zebras. Augmentation spreading to all of them. Potential limitless. Replace lost limbs and organs. Higher standard of living. Just mechanical currently. Have heard of tests in nanotechnological augmentation. Nanomachines to place enhancements. Medical applications boundless. Regrow organs and limbs. Cure cancer. Stave off age. All advantages of mechanical augmentation. More potent though. Still look fully organic." Dash heard him take a deep breath. "Never see them coming. Baser bodily functions left intact as well. Like reproduction." "I won't meet anyone like that, right Monkshood?" Dash asked. "Not likely. Nanotechnology still in infancy. Not even in beta yet," Monkshood said. The image changed back to Facet. "Moving on from this fascinating talk of biomechanics, you're aware of how your new comm works, right, Rainbow Dash?" "The ringing directly stimulates the bones in my ear, meaning only I can hear it and the pony on the other line. And my responses are made in subvocal range so that nopony can hear my side of the conversation," Dash said. "Exactly," Facet said. "I'll put Twilight back on." The image switched back to Twilight. "Okay, Rainbow. When you find Clean Cut, try not to rough him up too badly," Twilight said as Dash neared the penthouse, seeing that her target wasn't there at the moment. "No promises," Dash said before cutting the connection as she landed on the roof. Slipping inside, she made her way to Clean Cut's room and let herself in, lying in wait for him. She didn't have to wait long. The door opened and Clean Cut, a brown earth pony with a small mustache and dressed in a nice suit entered, shutting the door behind him. She got his attention by engaging the deadbolt. "Evening, Clean Cut." "R-Rainbow Dash!" Clean Cut stuttered, clearly frightened. "You're l-looking well." Before he could go on, Dash flew at him, grabbed him, and slammed him into the wall, making him grunt in pain. "Talk, Clean Cut," Dash said, glaring at him. "I want to know why you didn't die in the labs, why you were suddenly unwilling to tell what you saw, and why you skipped town after you got out of the hospital." "I got lucky," Clean Cut said. "And I got scared afterward." "Bullshit," Dash said, leaning in closer. "Twilight said you were fully prepared to give a detailed account. But then you wouldn't say a word. Then when you get out of the hospital, you skip town without a word to anypony. Why?" Clean Cut started sweating and tried to stutter out another response before Dash flew him across the room and slammed him into the window, cracking it. "What happens next depends on you," Dash said. "If I get answers I don't like, we're going to have problems." She extended the blade in her left foreleg and put it right next to his face. "First, I'll cut off the stuff you don't need. One at a time. I'll start with your ear. Then I'll pop out one of your eyes. Maybe the other eye too. Or maybe not. If that doesn't loosen your tongue, I'll cut off your balls, one at a time. Then I'll cut your dick off and force you to eat it. After that, I'll start skinning your flanks. Cut off your cutie mark. Then I'll start cutting strips of meat off your hind legs. Tiny strips. Not enough to let you bleed out, but enough to cause you a shit ton of pain. And that cyberbrain of yours? I can sync it with mine and keep your blood sugar and adrenaline levels regulated to where you can't pass out from pain. But you can avoid that. All you have to do is tell me who. Murdered. My. Family." The entire time Dash was narrating these plans to Clean Cut, she was speaking in a calm, level tone. Clean Cut, meanwhile, had gone and pissed himself. "Okay! Okay! I was paid to get the security specs and deliver them to some pegasus cyborg! She gave me half up front and I'm supposed to meet her outside the city later tonight to get the other half." "Who is she?" Dash asked, the blade gleaming next to the trembling Clean Cut's ear. "I don't know! She was wearing a helmet the whole time and using a voice filter!" Clean Cut said through his terrified sobbing. "I swear that's all I know!" "Where's the meeting place?" "A half mile outside the city. To the north. At midnight." Dash retracted her arm blade and threw Clean Cut down. "Leave. If I ever see you in Equestria again, the things I'll do to you will make what I described tonight seem like a sweet vacation in comparison." Clean Cut nodded in terror. Dash turned around and started walking away, then stopped. "On second thought..." Putting her weight on her forelegs, she bucked Clean Cut out the window, listening to his fading scream as he fell to his death. Flying out the hole in the window, she headed for the meeting place. Placing a call, Twilight's picture came up in her HUD. "Got a lead, Twi." "And Clean Cut?" Twilight inquired. "Dead," Dash said simply. "You didn't have to kill him, Rainbow!" Twilight snapped. "I considered letting him live, but on second thought, he caused my family's deaths." Dash's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to kill everyone who was involved in that attack." "Be careful," Twilight said. "Remember, they beat you badly last time. Especially the pegasus." "I've got my enhancements this time. They won't be a problem," Dash said. "Still, exercise caution," Monkshood advised as his picture came up beside Twilight's. "You are far from only cyborg to employ carbon nanotube muscle fiber in augments. Packs power of jackhammer in each strike and superior to baseline ponies physically, yes. But enemy has it as well." "They also might have families of their own," a new voice said as a picture of a black pegasus with red eyes and a fiery mane appeared in her HUD. "Revenge is an understandable motive, but don't let it cloud your judgment, Rainbow Dash." "I'll be fine, Rapidfire," Dash said rather curtly. "Does Spitfire know you're on my support team?" "As far as Spitfire knows, I share her belief that you're a pain in the asshole," Rapidfire said. "But I know full well that your expulsion from the Wonderbolts was due to Spitfire's jealousy that Soarin chose you over her." "So you didn't support my expulsion?" Dash asked. "None of us did, but we knew talking to Spitfire about it was pointless," Rapidfire replied. "Approaching the meeting place. Rainbow Dash out," Dash said before cutting all her comm connections. Looking down, she saw the meeting place, and a group of ponies from the same merc group that attacked the company. Eyes narrowing further, she flew down and landed among them, the shockwave scattering them with yells of surprise. "So... Where's your boss?" "It's Rainbow Dash!" One of the mercs exclaimed as they all brought their guns up and pointed them at Dash. "You guys aren't very smart. Surrounding me like this... You'll just kill each other if you all fire at once," Dash said in a very condescending tone, her face never shifting from its scowl. "Where's your boss? I won't ask a third time." "This bitch thinks she can take us?" one merc asked with a very amused tone. Dash's answer was to activate her tactical cloak. As it forced light to bend around her, she became invisible to the eyes of the mercs. Before they could begin wondering where she was, two of them had already been killed by blades to their necks. The remaining mercs tried to fire on her, but as she predicted, only succeeded in killing each other. "Idiots," she muttered as she deactivated her cloak and moved to check them for survivors to question. Sensing someone attacking from behind, she whirled around with her foreleg blade and blocked the strike of a blood red katana. What surprised her, however, was the one wielding the blade. "Gilda?" "Dash?" Gilda returned as she backed down and sheathed her sword. "What are you doing out here?" "Could ask you the same thing," Dash said as she retracted her blade and started looking for still living mercs. "Investigating that attack on your friend's company," Gilda said as she joined the search. "Why do you care about an attack on a pony company?" Dash inquired. "Because despite how things went the last time we saw each other, you're still my friend," Gilda said. "That pink one just caught me on a bad day." "Just don't get in my way," Dash said. "I'm going to find who killed my family, and they, and everyone who tries to stop me, even a punch clock employee, will die. Families be damned. They made their choice to fight me. I'm just the reaper." Gilda looked at her old friend with a shocked expression. "Damn... That's pretty cold, Dash. That's not like you." "A lot's changed," Dash said. "I've always hated injustice. The thought that they could get away with this... Why should they go on living when a good stallion, an innocent teenage filly, and a foal who had his whole life ahead of him lie buried?" Gilda was taken aback. She had heard a child was killed, but not the kid's age. "A foal?" "Yes. A foal. My barely week old son," Dash said, her voice cracking a bit as Radiant's smiling face filled her mind. "Snuffed out before he could even really experience the world." Gilda walked over to her oldest friend and put a clawed hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry." To her shock, Dash shrugged her hand off. "I don't want your pity," Dash said as she moved to the last merc. "If you want to help, then help me find my family's killers, so that I can butcher them." Her fist impacted the ground as she found he was dead. "Dammit! Now I don't have any leads." Gilda was about to speak when Dash's stomach loudly growled. "Dash. When was the last time you ate? Or slept?" "Last time I ate was about 18 hours ago," Dash said before a yawn escaped her. "Third day straight with no sleep. Rage and adrenaline are kickass stimulants. Especially when my cyberbrain is maintaining my blood sugar levels. Beats the hell outta coffee." "Go home. Get some sleep and some food," Gilda said. "I'll meet with some contacts and meet up with you at your place. You still living in FIllydelphia?" "Yeah. I am," Dash answered. "And I suppose some rest would do me good." "Alright. See you later, Dash," Gilda said, giving her friend a sympathetic look before flying off toward the city. Dash walked away from the bodies and took off in the other direction, heading for Fillydelphia. Rainbow Dash sighed as she let herself into her home. Even a year after the loss of her family, the place still held ghosts for her. Hence why she hadn't been back much. There was a layer of dust on everything, and there were still a lot of broken objects from when she had torn the place up in a rage. She thought back to that night. [flashback] Monkshood had insisted that Rainbow Dash get plenty of rest while her body recovered from her ordeal and got used to the new augmentations. She knew he meant well, but there was a reason Dash wanted to avoid her house despite the orders of her cybernetic surgeon. Already she had reacted to greetings from Soarin and Scootaloo, only to remember that they weren't there anymore. The kitchen, where Soarin had made many a fantastic meal for them. The gym, where Scootaloo and Dash would often work out together. Dash choked back a sob as she passed by the most recent addition to the house: the nursery. All three of them had worked together to design it, making it easily able to accommodate a filly or a colt. A tear rolled down the mare's cheek as she ran one of her new hands over some of Radiant's toys. Toys that would never be played with. Another tear came. She would never see him grow. His first word, his first crush, his cutie mark, his cutecenera... None of it. Then she looked in a mirror in the hall across from the door. And the mare in it stared right back. Arguably more machine than pony now. Walking over to it, she set her hand at its side, her thumb resting on the mirror's surface. So much had been changed. Her thumb applied too much pressure and sent a crack through the mirror, marring Dash's reflection. And finally, the floodgates opened. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she let loose a scream and punched the mirror, shattering it. That was only the first thing she broke. She galloped around her house, breaking everything breakable she could lay her hands on. Tables, decorations, shelves, picture frames. It didn't matter. All the while, she didn't stop screaming. It was a scream that expressed many things, but more than anything, two emotions were clear: grieving agony at the loss of those she loved most, and pure, undiluted hatred for the ones that took them. Seeing an intact mirror in the master bathroom, she saw, for an instant, not herself, but the pegasus cyborg that had so thoroughly injured her. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Dash screamed as she rushed the mirror and shattered it. Fist still against the wall, pinning some shards, she took ragged breaths. "I'll kill them. I'll kill them all. I will follow them to Tartarus and back if I have to." [end flashback] Dash shook her head and went into her bedroom, pulling open a drawer on her nightstand and grabbing a pill bottle before heading into the kitchen for some food. Nothing complicated, just some cup ramen and a sandwich. Once her stomach was sated, she opened the pill bottle and shook about a dozen of the little round pills within into her hand and tossed them into her mouth, chewing and swallowing them without any drink. Closing the bottle, she returned it to her nightstand drawer and got into bed, sliding her shades back before falling into a fitful sleep.
Prologue"If you want to make enemies, try to change something." Twilight looked up from her paperwork as the door to her office opened, letting in a familiar cyan blue pegasus clad in a black leather jacket with a black bodysuit underneath it. "Thanks for coming, Rainbow Dash." "No sweat, Twi," Rainbow said as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of Twilight's desk. "Where's Spike?" "I had him clock out early. Told him to spend some time with Rarity. Celestia knows they deserve it," Twilight said as she sat her paperwork down, releasing it from the magenta light of her magic and taking a moment to admire Luna's moon as it hung in Fillydelphia's evening skyline. "Listen, before I go into why I called you, I need to know. Are you absolutely sure you're good to come back to work? I mean, you just gave birth. And Scootaloo has gotta be a bigger hoofful now that she's flying and has her cutie mark to boot." "Don't worry, Twilight. Soarin can handle Scoot and her new brother," Rainbow said. "He can handle anything, just like I can." "I was still kinda surprised when you two got married," Twilight said, smiling as she thought back to Soarin and Dash's wedding day. "How are Scootaloo's wings?" "They're working great," Rainbow said with a smile. "I can't thank you enough for what you did for her. Seeing her enjoy a flight always makes me smile." "Glad I could help," Twilight said, returning Dash's smile. "I don't get why those purists have a problem with what we do. If not for augmentation, Scootaloo wouldn't be able to fly, and I'd still be missing a leg," she said as she held up her right foreleg, the black prosthetic standing in stark contrast to her lavender fur. "I don't even feel the phantom pain from the stub anymore. The accident was pretty bad, but thanks to augmentation, I still live a full life unhindered." "Yeah. I won't deny augmentation's good and all, but I don't need it, and I never will. That tech would just slow me down," Dash said as Twilight put her leg down. Twilight chuckled. "Of course you'd choose a pure flesh body for the sake of speed. That's just like you, Dash." "You bet your flank it is," Dash said, hovering and grinning with a hoof on her chest. "But yeah. I'm good to come back into work. Gotta lose this baby weight soon, ya know." The grin was infectious, and Twilight found herself grinning with her chief of security. "Anyway. The reason I called you back so soon is because I have a bad feeling about tonight. I can't shake the feeling that something big is going to happen." "Don't you worry, Twi. I'll make sure nothing bad happens to anypony here," Rainbow said as she landed back in the chair. "You can count on me." "Thanks, Rainbow," Twilight said before they were interrupted by a new voice. "Security Chief Dash, your family is in the lobby." The cultured, yet unmistakably masculine voice originated from the speakers around the room. "Thanks, Dusk Shine. I'm on my way down," Dash said before heading for the door, but stopped to look at Twilight. "Everything'll be fine. I just know it." ________________ "Mom!" Scootaloo called as she flew into her adoptive mother's embrace, hugging her tightly. "Hey Scoot. What are you and Soarin doing here?" Dash asked after she released her daughter, smiling as she caught sight of the young mare's cutie mark: a sky blue triskelion. Scootaloo had finally realized her acrobatic and aerobatic talent when she got her new wings. The augment was lightweight, but still incredibly durable. A good thing too, since Scootaloo seemed as prone to crashing as her mother. "Me, dad, and Radiant, actually," Scootaloo said as Soarin joined them, a little foal held securely in a carrying harness on his father's back. He had been looking around at all the new sights, but now was focused on his mother. Rainbow smiled as she nuzzled her son, making him giggle. "Hey there, Radiant Dash. How's momma's little colt?" Soarin smiled as Radiant giggled again and nuzzled his wife. "I thought I'd bring the kids to visit you at work. Spitfire canceled practice tonight for some reason." "That's weird," Rainbow said. "Is she still upset about you and me being married?" "Yeah. I still can't believe she went as far as kicking you off the team," Soarin said. "I guess Radiant was the last straw for her." "Probably," Dash agreed. "She still reeling from that buck I gave her?" "Yeah, that didn't really help get into her good books, Dashie," Soarin said. "Sorry dude. Hormones. I was pregnant at the time," Dash said. Pregnancy had not stopped her from bucking Spitfire right in the face when they had their little spat. "I still say that was awesome, Mom," Scootaloo said, earning a ruffling to her mane from her mom despite her protests. "Come on, Mom. Show us around." "Well, I can give you a little tour, but don't stay too long. It's a school night. Plus your brother needs his rest," Dash said. "Thanks, mom," Scootaloo said as a unicorn approached them. "Nice of you to come back to work so soon, Rainbow. Sure you're up to it?" the unicorn asked. "I'm fine, Facet," Dash said. Rarity's twin brother looked nothing like his sister, having a ruby red coat, a sapphire blue mane with amethyst highlights, and emerald green eyes. His cutie mark was a paint pallet with gems where the paint would be with a hammer and chisel in the background. He certainly didn't look like he belonged in an office building. "I thought you were an artist, Facet," Soarin said. "I am," Facet said. "I had a pretty bad case of artist's block and started messing with computers. Who knew coding could be just as much of an art form as painting or sculpting?" "You fix the firewall?" Dash asked. "You don't 'fix' a firewall, Dash. you find the loophole and plug it," Facet said. "Did you plug it?" Dash asked, scowling a bit. "Yes I did," Facet said before looking at his coworker's family. "Did you like my wedding gift?" "Yeah. Thanks for that," Dash said, grinning. "It was no problem," Facet said. "While you're showing them around, try not to forget who made most of the paintings here. My little display of advocating augmentation. I'd never be able to multitask like I can without my augments." "Yeah yeah. I don't need your fancy tech," Dash said. "Famous last words, Rainbow Dash," Facet said. "I'll be in my office if you need me." With that, Facet teleported up to his office. "He seems nice," Soarin said. "Wait till you talk to him without Radiant around. Then he'll get really snarky," Dash said. "Come on. Let's get this tour going." "Alright!" Scootaloo cheered as they got moving. Dash took them to some of the upper floors, mentioning that most of the paintings, many of which depicted ponies in environments of progress while others were portraits of important figures in the company, had indeed been painted by Facet. The unicorn was glad of the praise when his office was visited on the tour. After showing them her own office, which had a certain Spartan feel to it, and had a very good view of the lobby, she took them up to Twilight's office. "Hey Twilight. Scootaloo wanted your office to be on the tour," Dash said as Twilight came from around her desk. "This is so awesome!" Scootaloo said as she hovered around the room. "Glad you're enjoying the wings," Twilight said, smiling at the excited mare before seeing Radiant. "And this must be the new addition." "Yup. Meet Radiant Dash," Soarin said, turning so the curious foal could see Twilight better. Radiant's name was very fitting. He was about the same shade of cyan as his mother, and had her vibrant red eyes. His mane was mostly blue like his father, but with a rainbow streak down the middle. "He's cute," Twilight said, letting the foal tug her mane a bit. The happy moment was broken as an alarm started blaring. "What's going on?" Dash asked, getting serious. "There are several fires down in the tech labs. Tracking signals from the researchers indicate that they are fleeing from something, and I cannot get any images on the cameras. They are being jammed," Dusk Shine said as data came up on the screen behind Twilight's desk.. Rainbow looked at Soarin. "Get the kids out of here and get them home. Don't leave for any reason until I come get you." "What are you gonna do, Mom?" Scootaloo asked. "I'm going down there," Dash said. "Somepony's gotta protect those eggheads." "Be careful," Soarin said, briefly kissing Dash before leaving with Scootaloo and Radiant. "Use my personal elevator, Dash," Twilight said. "Right," Rainbow said as she checked her rifle and pistol sidearm before entering the lift and heading down toward the labs. "Rainbow Dash, once you're down there, it's likely that communications will be cut off between us. I'll try to get around whatever's jamming it, but until then, you're on your own," Facet said over the comms, which were suffering some interference. "Got it, Facet," Dash said before the communication cut off. "Guess I really am on my own for now," she muttered as she exited the lift with her rifle held up. Keeping a close eye on her surroundings, she made her way through the damaged and burning labs. "Please! No!" The alarmed begging made Dash move faster and she reached a plexiglass door in time to see a pair of scientists gunned down by a burly and clearly augmented earth pony. "What the? I was expecting purists, not an augmented merc," Dash thought to herself as the pony moved on. By the time Dash had made her way around the plexiglass, the merc was gone and her path clear. Coming to a lab door, she pressed against the wall beside it and carefully opened it. Seeing the way clear, she started moving through when she saw a scientist gunned down. Taking cover, she got a look at the attackers as they came down the lab stairs. Unlike the earth pony from earlier, these two weren't augmented, but they did have high end equipment. And unlike him, they were actually vulnerable. Peeking around her cover, Dash put several bullets in on of their heads before taking cover again to hide from the return fire. When the survivor stopped to reload, she peeked out and picked him off. Once she was sure the area was clear, she headed up the stairs and into the next corridor. After a brief period, she saw several guards get gunned down and peeked around the corner in time to see a flash of light vanish into a vent shaft. Moving on carefully, she reached another lab and listened to some of the chatter from intruders on the other side. "We're supposed to kill any scientists we find, but the boss said leave the main objective to her." Filing that tidbit away, Dash silently opened the door and put several bullets in one of their heads. The other two quickly took cover and returned fire. Dash kept her cover and peeked out to take a shot at one, only managing to wound him before needing to take cover again. "I do not need a firefight right now!" Peeking around again, she fired and took out the wounded one, hiding out from the last one and sending some blind fire his way before peeking out for more accuracy. Once it was clear, she paused to reload her rifle before moving on. Making her way through another corridor, she reached the door to a third lab, where a lab tech still lived. "Dash! Thank Celestia you're here!" he said before an augmented unicorn mare came out of the vent behind him and gunned him down before engaging a cloaking device and fleeing. The tech was able to open the door before succumbing to his wounds. "They're gonna pay," Dash muttered as she took cover, looking at five intruders who had entered the lab from the lower level. "So far I've encountered twelve intruders. Ten normal but with good equipment, and two that have some high end augmentations. They're obviously mercenaries, but who hired them? And what's the motivation?" Putting those thoughts aside for later, Dash peeked above the rail and shot one of them in the head several times before taking cover again. After moving to a better spot and picking off another two intruders, Dash noticed a canister land near her. "Concussion grenade!" Moving quickly, she got to the rail leading down the stairs before the grenade went off. Sending out some blind fire, Dash peeked out and picked off the second to last before rolling to cover behind a large object on the lab floor. Just in time for it to take some bullets. "Sorry, Twilight. I bet that's expensive," she muttered as she peeked around and took out the last guy. After reloading, she headed out of the lab and headed through the corridor. This didn't make any sense. Why would mercenaries be attacking Sparkle Industries? Sure there were purists, but they'd never hire augmented mercs. That would only make them look like hypocrites. This wasn't about augmentation. There was some other motive. But what was it? And who was the mare in charge of them? What was their main objective? Rainbow was broken from her thoughts when she was blindsided and bucked through a glass screen into an office. Pain coursing through her, she got a bead on her attacker, a masked and highly augmented pegasus, as the mystery pony approached her. Rainbow reached for her pistol only to be bucked through the office wall. Through the haze of pain, she saw something that nearly made her heart stop: her family in the hooves of the mercs. Soarin struggled in vain against the earth pony, while the unicorn's magic field held a struggling Scootaloo and a crying Radiant. "MOM!!!" Scootaloo screamed, though it seemed distant to Dash. Dash tried to get up at hearing Scootaloo's voice and her son's crying, but her body wouldn't respond to her will, and she lost consciousness. ______________ "Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash!" a familiar voice slowly roused Rainbow. "Oh thank Celestia you're alive," Twilight said as Rainbow's vision cleared. Dash slowly glanced around with her good eye. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were there too. As was Princess Luna and, to her surprise, Princess Celestia. Celestia looked like she had been hastily roused from her sleep. "What happened?" "You were hurt pretty badly," Fluttershy said. Dash was covered in casts and bandages. "The doctors said that you're lucky to be alive, Rainbow Dash," Rarity said. "Where's my family?" Dash asked. "Well... they're uh..." Pinkie Pie's mane had deflated, and her coat was a darker shade of pink. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash. They were burned beyond recognition, but the coroner said they didn't suffer," Celestia said in a very somber tone. "The company was never the target. They just wanted to get you away from your family," Twilight said in the same tone as her mentor. Dash barely managed a gasp. "No... No..." She had lost everything. Her husband, her children, and her body was heavily damaged. They were right there, and she couldn't do a damn thing to save them. She should never have left them. She was overcome with grief. But just as quickly, it was replaced by something else: rage. She wanted revenge, and she would hunt her family's killers to Tartarus and back if she had to. "How long until I heal?" "The doc said you're completely crippled," Applejack said. "Whoever did this to ya was thorough." Dash looked at Twilight. "Augment me." "Dash, are you sure?" Twilight asked. "You said -" "I know what I said," Dash said, cutting her off. "Things have changed. I want answers. I want to know who attacked us, who murdered my family. I will never stop looking until I find out who did this and make them pay. Every augment the company has, I want it, Twilight. Don't spare anything. Make sure I get everything." Twilight and everypony else present could hear the determination in the mare's voice. She wouldn't be denied so easily. "Alright. I'll get everything set up. You just rest. It'll be a long operation." Dash nodded and closed her eye. "Soarin... Scootaloo... Radiant... I'll find whoever took you from me. I'll make them pay. I promise you that. Cross my heart and hope to fly... stick a cupcake in my eye."
The Hunt Begins"Rage is one hell of an anesthetic." Twilight looked down at the operation from the observation theater. With her were Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy, Spike, and Facet. Except for Facet, who was looking for leads from what he could salvage from the files of the attack, they were watching Rainbow Dash's augmentation. Considering that the widowed mother was getting every augment that Sparkle Industries had, the doctors and Twilight both had estimated an operation twenty hours long. They were two hours into it, and Dash's legs and wings had been successfully replaced with the hubs for the prosthetics that would take their place. "I still can't believe somepony would do something so horrible," Spike said, clutching Rarity's hoof in his claw as they watched. Their physical contact being a means of silent comfort for each other. He had matured quite a bit, and though he could still walk on his hind legs, his longer tail and natural serpentine body structure found him more comfortable being on all fours at times, and he had grown wings. He was about the size of an adult pony now, not as large as one of the Regal Sisters, but still about the size of Big Macintosh. "We'll find who did this, Spike," Fluttershy said in an unusually even voice. The presence of the Stare was the only thing betraying the inferno of rage that swirled within the normally shy pony's heart. Rarity looked over at her twin. "Did you find anything yet, Facet?" "I'm still looking, Rarity," Facet said. "That's what I was doing yesterday. That's what I was doing when you asked me five minutes ago. So five minutes from now, when you ask me, 'have I found anything?', my answer is gonna be, 'I'm still looking.'" He looked at his sister with a bit of a frown as he spoke. "If and when I find something, Twilight shall be the first to know. But bear in mind, the cameras in the labs were being jammed and I had a very hard time getting images, so anything I find will probably be very fuzzy and need some clearing." "Don't talk to Rarity like that," Spike growled. "It's alright, Spike. He's just upset that his security measures were bypassed as easily as they were," Rarity said. "Which is not easy," Facet said. "I'd wager they had a mole on the inside, so I'm running background checks on all Sparkle Industries employees and crosschecking alibis. If any of them are hiding something, I'll find out, and Twilight will be the first to know." "What about witnesses?" Applejack asked. "Somepony musta seen somethin." "Only three ponies got out of the labs alive: Rainbow Dash and two others," Twilight said. "One of them is in a coma, and it's unknown if he'll wake up any time soon. The other was ready to give a detailed description, but by the time I got to him, he couldn't remember a thing. I think he was bribed, or he might be involved. We'll find out either way." "Those meanies are gonna pay!" Pinkie Pie said, her mane and tail slightly less straight, but she wasn't completely back to her bouncing, happy self. "Got that right, Pinkie," Twilight said as they fell into silence again. One year later Rainbow Dash flew through the sky over Las Pegasus, her rainbow trail hidden even in the night by the many lights of the city's casinos. But she wasn't interested in those. She was looking for a particular nightclub. She had wanted to start looking soon after her operation, but Twilight convinced her to rest and learn all her new augments. She may have now been heavier, and had a special landing system that she could use to stun her enemies if she landed among them, her pegasus magic was still enough to allow her to still fly at her usual high speeds. Her stamina had greatly increased as well. Before she was augmented, she'd have needed to rest at a couple of points on this trip. She still wore her black coat and bodysuit, but it was tailored to accommodate some new weapons in her body, and her prosthetic limbs and wings had a black sheen to them. Her new eyes, though artificial, were the same vibrant red that her original eyes had been, but where those had been full of life and joy, the new ones were devoid of emotion, and the built in shades covering them masked even the inferno they carried. Gone was Dash's confident smirk. In its place was a scowl. All in all, her new look conveyed 'Don't fuck with me.' Landing on the sidewalk with enough force to crack it, Dash walked toward the entrance of Club Errera, passerby giving her a wide berth. As she reached the entrance of the club, she could hear the beat of music coming from within, which became clear as the doors slid open to let her in. Stopping at the top of a staircase, she took stock of the club. The dance floor was packed, and the strobe lights lighting up the darkened room with all manner of colors made for a very nice atmosphere. Her only problem was the music, and as she walked toward the bar, the lyrics got started for the first time since she entered. "Red like roses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest..." Those lyrics reminded her of her loss, and made her blink back some tears as she reached the bar. "Mojito," she said to the barkeep. "No ice or lime wedge." "I think you might be lost, aug," a gruff voice said from the spot next to her. Looking over, Dash saw a rather diminutive chimp in a tuxedo shirt and jacket holding a drink of his own. "Aren't you a little small to have a name like Wukong?" she asked in a condescending tone as her drink was served. Lifting her hoof, or rather, hand, she took hold of the glass. It had been Twilight's idea to include hands in foreleg prosthetics, since they were so convenient for monkeys and other creatures that had them. Manipulating the unfamiliar appendage had been a somewhat challenging learning curve, but Dash had managed. "So you know who I am," Wukong said. "Got a name, sweetheart?" Dash looked him dead in the eye. "Several. But instead of 'sweetheart', you can call me 'ma'am'." As she spoke, she reached down with her left hand, grabbing and squeezing Wukong's family jewels as she said 'ma'am'. She sipped her drink as the pain made Wukong gasp in a voice a couple octaves higher than he had been speaking in before. "Word on the street is that you know everything," she said as an image of the only other active survivor of the attack on Sparkle Industries appeared on a screen on her foreleg. "Tell me where I can find him and I might not neuter you," she said as she showed it to him. "I've never seen him before, freak," Wukong got out through his pain. "Excuse me?" Dash asked while adding some pressure to his jewels. "I've never seen him before, freak, ma'am!" Wukong whimpered as a large number of bouncers, chimps larger than Wukong himself, ran up to them. "Looks like we've got an audience," Dash said as she glanced at them. "This must be embarrassing for you." "Listen, freak, ma'am! If you want to get out of this club alive, then let me go. Now!" Wukong gasped as Dash sipped her drink. Deciding to go easy on him, Dash released him and nonchalantly sipped her drink. "You'll pay for that, aug!" Wukong said, glaring at her as one of the bouncers approached Rainbow. "We just need to kiss and make up," the bouncer said as he grasped Dash's face and turned it toward him, leaning in for the kiss part. All that earned him was a fist to the face that sent him flying through a glass pillar and onto the dance floor, sending the party goers running and screaming. "My husband was the only one allowed to kiss me like that," Rainbow said coldly before finishing her drink. One of the bouncers came at Dash with a bo staff, and his swing was dodged by her as she jumped into the air and slammed into the ground, causing a shockwave that knocked the bouncers off their feet. Exploiting the opening, Dash closed the distance between herself and one of the bouncers and bucked him into a wall before punching another and disarming him of his jian and throwing him into one of his colleagues. She used the stolen jian to clock another bouncer with the flat side of the blade and kicked him into another bouncer before pinning another to the floor by shoving the blade through his coat and deep into the floor. Dodging a punch and getting behind the offender, she suplexed him into the floor and tackled another into the wall with a shoulder charge. The bouncers piled on top of Dash and tried to restrain her with their combined weight. What they didn't count on was the sheer strength that Rainbow now possessed, allowing her to throw them off and into the walls. The ones that were still able to wisely decided to not get up. "Ginkaku who is this girl?" a silverback gorilla dressed in a monk's robe with a golden rope wrapped around his left arm and a large feathered fan in his right hand asked of his brother. "I don't know, Kinkaku. But she needs to be taught a lesson," Ginkaku said, brandishing a sword that appeared to have a blade that could fold in half in his right hand, and a large gourd under his left arm. He wore a similar monk's robe as his brother. Rainbow Dash turned to face them, lifting her right foreleg as a blade extended from a slot on it over and behind her fist, and another blade extended from her left foreleg's elbow, pointing behind her. "Come on." Grinning, Kinkaku ran at her and threw a punch at her with his rope covered arm. Jumping, Dash avoided the punch and landed on his arm as she countered with a left hook aimed at his face, which he blocked with the fan. Ginkaku came at her with a slash of his sword that she jumped off Kinkaku's arm to avoid while parrying with a slash of her arm sword. Hovering above them, she noted the ambient magic she felt in their weapons. "Better not let that rope touch my skin. Hit and run tactics from above are my best bet here," she thought to herself. "Don't think flying is gonna protect you from us, aug!" Kinkaku said with a smirk as he waved his fan, sending a wave of fire at Dash. "Whoa that's hot!" Dash gasped as she flew up to avoid the fire, feeling its heat even with some distance as it melted several metal light fixtures and made them fall onto the vacated dance floor. Glaring, she flew at Ginkaku and started a close quarters fight with him, working to keep him between herself and Kinkaku. Kinkaku closed the distance and swapped out with his brother, trying to hit Dash with the rope wrapped around his arm. "Why isn't this working?!" "Try hitting skin!" Dash said as she grabbed the rope, swinging Kinkaku around and throwing him into a wall before turning her attention back to Ginkaku, who demonstrated some impressive swordwork, keeping Dash on her guard for a bit before she found an opening and bucked him into his brother, knocking both out. Throughout the fight, that song had kept playing, making Dash feel the need to vent some of her sadness. And what better way than through song? Going over to the soundboard, she hacked it and changed the music, doing a practice vocal as Wukong approached armed with an ornate bo staff. "You're gonna pay for this," Wukong said as he attacked at the same moment Dash began singing. "I couldn't take it, couldn't stand another minute. Couldn't bear another day without you in it. All of the joy that I had known for all my life, Was stripped away from me the minute that you died." Dash parried several strikes from Wukong's staff after her attempt to block one had knocked her back several feet. Wukong was stronger than he looked. Much stronger. "To have you in my life was all I ever wanted. But now without you, I'm a soul forever haunted. Can't help but feel that I had taken you for granted. No way in Hell that I could ever comprehend this!" Dash went on the offensive and threw a combo of punches at Wukong, who blocked and parried them with his staff, getting in some hits on his own and making Dash take to the air. "I wasn't dreaming when they told me you were gone. I was wide awake and feeling that they had to be wrong. How could you leave me when you swore that you would stay? Now I'm trapped inside a nightmare every single bucking day!" Dash put on a burst of speed and disarmed Wukong while also sending him into the opposite wall with her following combo. Despite her song and the fight, her face remained passive. "Red like roses Fills my head with dreams and finds me" Wukong got up and came at Dash as she landed, trying to attack her again. "Always closer to the emptiness and sadness that has come to take the place of you!" Dash finished the song as she punched Wukong into the floor and held him there, bringing up the picture of her target again. "No more games. Now tell me where he is." "Okay! Okay!" Wukong said. "He's been staying in a penthouse across from Hurricane's Palace." "Thanks," Dash said as she got off him. "Next time give me the info I want." With that, she flew off toward the penthouse in question. She needed to have words with this pony.
The Plot Thickens"Necessity is the mother of invention." Rainbow Dash looked for her destination as she flew over Las Pegasus. Her attention however was drawn to a part of her heads up display as she heard a ringing sound in her ear. "Dash here," she said as an image of Twilight came up in the corner of her HUD. "Did you really beat up the security staff of Club Errera in your search for information?" Twilight asked. "I know Princess Luna gave you free rein to do whatever you deem necessary for your search by making you one of the Shadowbolts, but you're still using Sparkle Industries augmentations, and your actions at least somewhat reflect on us." "I'll try, but I can't make any promises," Dash said. "I may have had to start a brawl, but I found out where our missing friend is. And I doubt he'll be happy to see me." "Probably not," Twilight agreed. "How are the augments feeling?" "They feel good," Dash said. "Well, before you get there, Facet wants to talk to you," Twilight said. "Alright. Put him on," Dash said. The image changed to one of Facet. "Well Rainbow, I do hate to say I told you so but... I told you so." "If all you wanted was to rub in my face that I had to get augmented after saying I'd never need the tech, then get off the comm," Dash said with a frown. "I do in fact have a lead, Rainbow," Facet said. "I've been doing some digging into the mercs who attacked the company, and I've determined that they weren't terrorists of any sort. More likely, they're either paramilitary or employees of a PMC." It took Dash a moment to recognize the acronym. "We might have been attacked by a private military company?" "Of course," Facet said. "You didn't really think civilians were the only ones getting augmented, did you? No. With the advances being made in augmentation technology, cyborgs are becoming a subject of great interest for the military-industrial complex. While civilians are more interested in the prosthesis aspect, PMCs are developing cyborg bodies that are armed. Imagine. A fire team with the firepower of a platoon and the dexterity and coordination of machines. Truly a fearsome opponent, wouldn't you agree?" "Yeah. Not someone I'd want to fight," Dash agreed as the image changed to a white stallion with a red mane. "Not just ponies. Other races as well. Griffons, minotaurs, zebras. Augmentation spreading to all of them. Potential limitless. Replace lost limbs and organs. Higher standard of living. Just mechanical currently. Have heard of tests in nanotechnological augmentation. Nanomachines to place enhancements. Medical applications boundless. Regrow organs and limbs. Cure cancer. Stave off age. All advantages of mechanical augmentation. More potent though. Still look fully organic." Dash heard him take a deep breath. "Never see them coming. Baser bodily functions left intact as well. Like reproduction." "I won't meet anyone like that, right Monkshood?" Dash asked. "Not likely. Nanotechnology still in infancy. Not even in beta yet," Monkshood said. The image changed back to Facet. "Moving on from this fascinating talk of biomechanics, you're aware of how your new comm works, right, Rainbow Dash?" "The ringing directly stimulates the bones in my ear, meaning only I can hear it and the pony on the other line. And my responses are made in subvocal range so that nopony can hear my side of the conversation," Dash said. "Exactly," Facet said. "I'll put Twilight back on." The image switched back to Twilight. "Okay, Rainbow. When you find Clean Cut, try not to rough him up too badly," Twilight said as Dash neared the penthouse, seeing that her target wasn't there at the moment. "No promises," Dash said before cutting the connection as she landed on the roof. Slipping inside, she made her way to Clean Cut's room and let herself in, lying in wait for him. She didn't have to wait long. The door opened and Clean Cut, a brown earth pony with a small mustache and dressed in a nice suit entered, shutting the door behind him. She got his attention by engaging the deadbolt. "Evening, Clean Cut." "R-Rainbow Dash!" Clean Cut stuttered, clearly frightened. "You're l-looking well." Before he could go on, Dash flew at him, grabbed him, and slammed him into the wall, making him grunt in pain. "Talk, Clean Cut," Dash said, glaring at him. "I want to know why you didn't die in the labs, why you were suddenly unwilling to tell what you saw, and why you skipped town after you got out of the hospital." "I got lucky," Clean Cut said. "And I got scared afterward." "Bullshit," Dash said, leaning in closer. "Twilight said you were fully prepared to give a detailed account. But then you wouldn't say a word. Then when you get out of the hospital, you skip town without a word to anypony. Why?" Clean Cut started sweating and tried to stutter out another response before Dash flew him across the room and slammed him into the window, cracking it. "What happens next depends on you," Dash said. "If I get answers I don't like, we're going to have problems." She extended the blade in her left foreleg and put it right next to his face. "First, I'll cut off the stuff you don't need. One at a time. I'll start with your ear. Then I'll pop out one of your eyes. Maybe the other eye too. Or maybe not. If that doesn't loosen your tongue, I'll cut off your balls, one at a time. Then I'll cut your dick off and force you to eat it. After that, I'll start skinning your flanks. Cut off your cutie mark. Then I'll start cutting strips of meat off your hind legs. Tiny strips. Not enough to let you bleed out, but enough to cause you a shit ton of pain. And that cyberbrain of yours? I can sync it with mine and keep your blood sugar and adrenaline levels regulated to where you can't pass out from pain. But you can avoid that. All you have to do is tell me who. Murdered. My. Family." The entire time Dash was narrating these plans to Clean Cut, she was speaking in a calm, level tone. Clean Cut, meanwhile, had gone and pissed himself. "Okay! Okay! I was paid to get the security specs and deliver them to some pegasus cyborg! She gave me half up front and I'm supposed to meet her outside the city later tonight to get the other half." "Who is she?" Dash asked, the blade gleaming next to the trembling Clean Cut's ear. "I don't know! She was wearing a helmet the whole time and using a voice filter!" Clean Cut said through his terrified sobbing. "I swear that's all I know!" "Where's the meeting place?" "A half mile outside the city. To the north. At midnight." Dash retracted her arm blade and threw Clean Cut down. "Leave. If I ever see you in Equestria again, the things I'll do to you will make what I described tonight seem like a sweet vacation in comparison." Clean Cut nodded in terror. Dash turned around and started walking away, then stopped. "On second thought..." Putting her weight on her forelegs, she bucked Clean Cut out the window, listening to his fading scream as he fell to his death. Flying out the hole in the window, she headed for the meeting place. Placing a call, Twilight's picture came up in her HUD. "Got a lead, Twi." "And Clean Cut?" Twilight inquired. "Dead," Dash said simply. "You didn't have to kill him, Rainbow!" Twilight snapped. "I considered letting him live, but on second thought, he caused my family's deaths." Dash's eyes narrowed. "I'm going to kill everyone who was involved in that attack." "Be careful," Twilight said. "Remember, they beat you badly last time. Especially the pegasus." "I've got my enhancements this time. They won't be a problem," Dash said. "Still, exercise caution," Monkshood advised as his picture came up beside Twilight's. "You are far from only cyborg to employ carbon nanotube muscle fiber in augments. Packs power of jackhammer in each strike and superior to baseline ponies physically, yes. But enemy has it as well." "They also might have families of their own," a new voice said as a picture of a black pegasus with red eyes and a fiery mane appeared in her HUD. "Revenge is an understandable motive, but don't let it cloud your judgment, Rainbow Dash." "I'll be fine, Rapidfire," Dash said rather curtly. "Does Spitfire know you're on my support team?" "As far as Spitfire knows, I share her belief that you're a pain in the asshole," Rapidfire said. "But I know full well that your expulsion from the Wonderbolts was due to Spitfire's jealousy that Soarin chose you over her." "So you didn't support my expulsion?" Dash asked. "None of us did, but we knew talking to Spitfire about it was pointless," Rapidfire replied. "Approaching the meeting place. Rainbow Dash out," Dash said before cutting all her comm connections. Looking down, she saw the meeting place, and a group of ponies from the same merc group that attacked the company. Eyes narrowing further, she flew down and landed among them, the shockwave scattering them with yells of surprise. "So... Where's your boss?" "It's Rainbow Dash!" One of the mercs exclaimed as they all brought their guns up and pointed them at Dash. "You guys aren't very smart. Surrounding me like this... You'll just kill each other if you all fire at once," Dash said in a very condescending tone, her face never shifting from its scowl. "Where's your boss? I won't ask a third time." "This bitch thinks she can take us?" one merc asked with a very amused tone. Dash's answer was to activate her tactical cloak. As it forced light to bend around her, she became invisible to the eyes of the mercs. Before they could begin wondering where she was, two of them had already been killed by blades to their necks. The remaining mercs tried to fire on her, but as she predicted, only succeeded in killing each other. "Idiots," she muttered as she deactivated her cloak and moved to check them for survivors to question. Sensing someone attacking from behind, she whirled around with her foreleg blade and blocked the strike of a blood red katana. What surprised her, however, was the one wielding the blade. "Gilda?" "Dash?" Gilda returned as she backed down and sheathed her sword. "What are you doing out here?" "Could ask you the same thing," Dash said as she retracted her blade and started looking for still living mercs. "Investigating that attack on your friend's company," Gilda said as she joined the search. "Why do you care about an attack on a pony company?" Dash inquired. "Because despite how things went the last time we saw each other, you're still my friend," Gilda said. "That pink one just caught me on a bad day." "Just don't get in my way," Dash said. "I'm going to find who killed my family, and they, and everyone who tries to stop me, even a punch clock employee, will die. Families be damned. They made their choice to fight me. I'm just the reaper." Gilda looked at her old friend with a shocked expression. "Damn... That's pretty cold, Dash. That's not like you." "A lot's changed," Dash said. "I've always hated injustice. The thought that they could get away with this... Why should they go on living when a good stallion, an innocent teenage filly, and a foal who had his whole life ahead of him lie buried?" Gilda was taken aback. She had heard a child was killed, but not the kid's age. "A foal?" "Yes. A foal. My barely week old son," Dash said, her voice cracking a bit as Radiant's smiling face filled her mind. "Snuffed out before he could even really experience the world." Gilda walked over to her oldest friend and put a clawed hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry." To her shock, Dash shrugged her hand off. "I don't want your pity," Dash said as she moved to the last merc. "If you want to help, then help me find my family's killers, so that I can butcher them." Her fist impacted the ground as she found he was dead. "Dammit! Now I don't have any leads." Gilda was about to speak when Dash's stomach loudly growled. "Dash. When was the last time you ate? Or slept?" "Last time I ate was about 18 hours ago," Dash said before a yawn escaped her. "Third day straight with no sleep. Rage and adrenaline are kickass stimulants. Especially when my cyberbrain is maintaining my blood sugar levels. Beats the hell outta coffee." "Go home. Get some sleep and some food," Gilda said. "I'll meet with some contacts and meet up with you at your place. You still living in FIllydelphia?" "Yeah. I am," Dash answered. "And I suppose some rest would do me good." "Alright. See you later, Dash," Gilda said, giving her friend a sympathetic look before flying off toward the city. Dash walked away from the bodies and took off in the other direction, heading for Fillydelphia. Rainbow Dash sighed as she let herself into her home. Even a year after the loss of her family, the place still held ghosts for her. Hence why she hadn't been back much. There was a layer of dust on everything, and there were still a lot of broken objects from when she had torn the place up in a rage. She thought back to that night. [flashback] Monkshood had insisted that Rainbow Dash get plenty of rest while her body recovered from her ordeal and got used to the new augmentations. She knew he meant well, but there was a reason Dash wanted to avoid her house despite the orders of her cybernetic surgeon. Already she had reacted to greetings from Soarin and Scootaloo, only to remember that they weren't there anymore. The kitchen, where Soarin had made many a fantastic meal for them. The gym, where Scootaloo and Dash would often work out together. Dash choked back a sob as she passed by the most recent addition to the house: the nursery. All three of them had worked together to design it, making it easily able to accommodate a filly or a colt. A tear rolled down the mare's cheek as she ran one of her new hands over some of Radiant's toys. Toys that would never be played with. Another tear came. She would never see him grow. His first word, his first crush, his cutie mark, his cutecenera... None of it. Then she looked in a mirror in the hall across from the door. And the mare in it stared right back. Arguably more machine than pony now. Walking over to it, she set her hand at its side, her thumb resting on the mirror's surface. So much had been changed. Her thumb applied too much pressure and sent a crack through the mirror, marring Dash's reflection. And finally, the floodgates opened. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she let loose a scream and punched the mirror, shattering it. That was only the first thing she broke. She galloped around her house, breaking everything breakable she could lay her hands on. Tables, decorations, shelves, picture frames. It didn't matter. All the while, she didn't stop screaming. It was a scream that expressed many things, but more than anything, two emotions were clear: grieving agony at the loss of those she loved most, and pure, undiluted hatred for the ones that took them. Seeing an intact mirror in the master bathroom, she saw, for an instant, not herself, but the pegasus cyborg that had so thoroughly injured her. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!" Dash screamed as she rushed the mirror and shattered it. Fist still against the wall, pinning some shards, she took ragged breaths. "I'll kill them. I'll kill them all. I will follow them to Tartarus and back if I have to." [end flashback] Dash shook her head and went into her bedroom, pulling open a drawer on her nightstand and grabbing a pill bottle before heading into the kitchen for some food. Nothing complicated, just some cup ramen and a sandwich. Once her stomach was sated, she opened the pill bottle and shook about a dozen of the little round pills within into her hand and tossed them into her mouth, chewing and swallowing them without any drink. Closing the bottle, she returned it to her nightstand drawer and got into bed, sliding her shades back before falling into a fitful sleep.
